Plans to offload state houses to social housing providers is “an asset sale by stealth,” the Labour Party says.

The deluded Andy is banging on about an expression of interest from an Australian company, Horizon Homes, to buy surplus state housing stock.

He is claiming the Government has given no reason why the houses should be sold offshore,

But having surplus stock and wanting to find a buyer seems reason enough if you are not too fussy about where the buyers live – so long as their money is good (which perhaps rules out the Greeks for now).

It sounded like Iwi Chairs Forum spokesman Haami Piripi wants the Government to transfer social housing stock to iwi for free.

Yep. He was reported to be expecting property in which taxpayers have invested heaps to be handed over to iwi for nothing – or if something must be paid, then the price should be of the bargain-basement variety.

Mr Piripi told The Nation at the weekend the market price for some state houses is zero because the “outcomes will far outweigh the cost”.

Alf must confess he is not sure what his means.

Maybe this explains things better:

“This is an investment in the population, an investment in families, an investment in housing, and in order to make an investment as a Government, you have to discount the price to make sure that that investment works, the formula that you put in place works,” Mr Piripi said.

This Wildebeest bloke is described as a respectable town planner, although Alf has never encountered such a creature in his many years in politics. He is also described as a wine judge (a much more admirable calling) and a serial arsonist (which could be countenanced provided he could be relied on to torch appropriate targets, such as Labour Party headquarters in Eketahuna North).

It looks like discord has broken out between Labour and the Greens. Hurrah.

The greenies are in a tizz because none of them will be sitting on Parliament’s intelligence and security committee. Hurrah again. The public can sleep more safely in their beds knowing their security is in safe hands.

It’s all the result of Labour leader Andrew Little shutting the minor parties out of a place at the table where the closed-door committee will oversee a major review of the security services this year.

The Greens – boohoo – say Little has broken the law, because he didn’t consult with any other party leaders before selecting his foreign affairs spokesman David Shearer.

He should seek guidance on constitutional matters from some of those books…

Something in the air at Waitangi has addled Andrew Little’s brain.

Or perhaps he has been infected with the cravenness bug that afflicts the Mayor of New Plymouth.

Whatever got the better of him, he has declared himself in favour of giving Maori greater self-governance, possibly including the ability to make some of their own laws.

Little declared his readiness to take this further step towards creating a Maori New Zealand and the other New Zealand yesterday, apparently influenced by a Waitangi Tribunal finding last year that Northland Maori did not cede their sovereignty when signing the Treaty.

This posturing would have won him lots of brownie points among Maori elders at Waitangi.

They had criticised The Boss when he stated the obvious – obvious, at least, except to people without a normal cluster of brain cells or to some indigenous persons who lust for greater governing powers to show they are “special” in this country.